Thursday Doors 47/52

At the beginning of the month I met two friends in Phoenix, AZ for a long week-end to photograph Sedona and a little bit of South Rim Grand Canyon. I was the first to arrive but, my friends weren’t due in for 3+ hours. So, with a lot of time on my hands I picked up the rental car then headed toward downtown and some lunch.

I got lucky and found a Subway and Starbucks right next door to each other so headed there. After lunch I thought I’d go deeper into downtown and see if I spotted anything interesting.

Well, I didn’t get all the way into town when these doors caught my eye.

I made a right turn then circled around the block looking for a place to park. I found parking in the church parking lot.

A woman who worked at the church came out and I asked for permission to photograph the doors, and she said, “sure!”. Then let me know it was also a school which was in session so don’t go in the classrooms. No worries there! I assured her. I wasn’t interested in that or the kids just the doors. 🙂

The inner courtyard is lovely.

and there’s a large grassy area. That’s a classroom wing.

looking at the Bell Tower from the courtyard,

It was about this time that a man came walking thorough the courtyard with his lunch and asked what I was doing, so as I was I telling him all about Thursday Doors, and my quest for doors another woman came out of the office so, he introduced me and told her what I was doing. I gave them both my “calling card”, and invited them to look me up on the blog and see what I photograph and look at other Thursday Door posts. The woman asked me if I wanted to see the inside of the Chapel? She didn’t need to ask me twice!

The Pulpit, Organ pipes, and Stained Glass Window,

What the Reverend sees, well mostly 🙂

the inside of the front doors,

In the hall near the door is a stone plaque from the original church building.

FOR THE HISTORY BUFFS:

“After the 1870 Los Angeles Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, a lone circuit rider headed east across the hot and barren Mohave Desert, then into the Sonoran Desert … his destination, the few isolated settlements that dotted the vast Arizona Territory.

One hundred and forty three years later we look back with gratitude for the courage, vision, and faith of that lonely rider, Alexander Groves, and the small but hardy group of men and women who welcomed him to their humble community on the banks of the Salt River in the middle of the desert. That fledgling group began gathering regularly for worship under the spiritual leadership of Rev. Groves, and was the inception of what we now know as Central United Methodist Church.” ~www.centralumc.com/history

In the beginning they gathered for worship on the banks of the Salt River under a grove of Mesquite trees. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?

They moved to the County Courtroom in the Hancock Monihon Building where the first public school classes were being held. Later when the Adobe School house was built the congregation met there.

Construction on Central United Methodist Church’s first permanent home, a 28 X 32 foot adobe structure was completed in 1872.

By 1904 they had grown so much that they moved into its second permanent structure; a brick building. In 1909 the first pipe organ was installed.

They continued to grow so erected a more spacious white columned building in 1926. In 1946 the congregation purchased 4 1/2 acres on the outskirts of Phoenix at Central and Palms Lanes for $44,900. The present Mission Style structure was dedicated in 1950. ~http://www.centralumc.com/history/

I walked across the street to make an image of the whole front of the Church,

There’s an electric train that runs up and down Central so there are wires all the way across the view. I used artistic license and cloned them out.

Here are some other doors, and a window gleaned from my walk around the church,

They were so nice to let me inside to see their beautiful chapel, and allow me to wander around the grounds.

Before I knew it it was time to return to the airport to pick up my friends.

O/T: Today is Thanksgiving here in the United States, and I like to wish all my blogging friends in the States a very Happy Thanksgiving!

To all of you in other places around the globe I wish you a wonderful day, and wish everyone a wonderful week-end.

I’m very thankful for you all. You lift me up, and inspire me daily. Thank you!

Nikon Df| Nikkor 17-35mm| Turkey image made in 2011 in Amador County

This post is part of Norm 2.0’s Thursday Doors. If you love doors and would like to see the doors others are posting, or post doors you’ve photographed and join other door lovers from around the world click here.

At the end of Norm’s latest Thursday Door post is a little Blue Link-up/View button click it to be taken to a page with all the links to view all the posts, and add your own if you’re a door enthusiast too.

More to come…

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Author: circadianreflections

My name is Deborah Zajac. I'm a photographer living in Nevada at the base of the Eastern Sierras. I am a passionate nature, landscape, night/astro photographer. I shoot predominately in color and use Nikon Digital Cameras, and lenses.
I hope you enjoy seeing some of the photos I've taken while on my travels.
Please feel free to leave a comment I'd love to hear from you.
View all posts by circadianreflections

I started participating with Thursday Door the first Thursday of 2016. It’s been my Project 52 this year.
I’ll still participate going forward but perhaps not weekly. I’m going to do a different theme for my P52 in 2017.

A lovely post! I also enjoy talking about Thursday Doors to pretty much anyone who’ll listen. It’s quite a good conversation starter!
When I saw the pic of the turkey, I initially thought maybe you’d coincidentally stumbled upon it somewhere around the chapel lol

I like the first doors better from the outside, Deborah, but I’m glad you showed us both sides. The chapel is stunning. You really have me looking forward to my annual visit to Arizona in January to visit my parents! 🙂 Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful.

Those doors really are somethin, and I can’t get over the beauty of the wood inside. Those floors are so gorgeous! Love this one. Really nice they let you in to photograph, I’m glad we all got to enjoy it. 🙂

Happy thanksgiving, Deborah! How nice of them to let you wander the grounds an take shots. Love the all wood chapel! And a stained glass (or painted?) door. Wow, you keep meeting friends this Fall! Now gotto go quickly and prep to go to my daughter to celebrate Thanksgiving – won’t be back till late tonight. Have a happy one!

I’m on my second box of “calling cards”! I never really thought I’d end up passing out all of the first box, but I have and then some! I like having them b/c it saves time trying to spell my name, the blogs name, or my email address to people I meet along the journey. 🙂

This church if standing in the courtyard looking across that lovely, lush green lawn felt a little like a resort with the bell tower, palm trees, and lush grass. 🙂 It’s a beautiful campus.

What an amazing collection of angles, scenes and doors all from one location, Deborah! I am so glad you had someone introduce you to the office personnel and got an invitation to see the sanctuary! Ooh, bell tower and the circular
The thing which impresses me most is the gorgeous wooden floors and the way they glow from polishing or cleaning.
The grassy area helped me to picture picnics, children and families as well as “gym classes” and “recess” with students! 🙂
Hope you and yours have a great Thanksgiving! 🙂

The floor where the Reverend speaks to the congregation, and choir sings ( I think) is gorgeous! It has a high gloss finish which helps it shine and glow I’m sure. It was a gift being able to see the Sanctuary as well as the grounds.

Thank you for helping clarify what I was visualizing in the floors, Deborah. The “high gloss finish” is what captivated my attention. I am also happy to hear this is where the Reverend speaks and the choir sings their hymns. It may take me awhile to “make my rounds” but it is always a pleasure to read your detailed comments. 🙂

What a wonderful tour, Deborah. When you talked about the people originally worshiping near the banks of a river, I was reminded of my early Sunday School days. We were taught about how our church (Methodist as well) started small and grew and how they worshiped anywhere they could. You don’t need a church, but if you’re going to have one, you can’t get much nicer than this one. I’m glad they let you inside. Whenever I see door photos, or when I take door photos, I’m always wondering what it looks like inside. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

I think we ( people) will always find places to worship. Having a roof over your head to do it in is good; especially in winter! 🙂

I really like the Mission Style architecture it fits the southwest so much I think.

It was a gift being allowed to see the Sanctuary, and the grounds.
If I hadn’t stopped for those doors I wouldn’t have learned this bit of history about the church and its people. It made my week-end all the more rich, and memorable.